Important Announcement about Wellness

Did you know that this past week was International Stress Awareness week? I didn't. I've been too stressed.

Have you ever stopped to think about what stress is and how it impacts your life? Stress in and of itself can be a good thing.

Without stress, we would probably all be on beach vacation somewhere and not a lot would get done. The economy would probably grind to halt. We need a certain amount of stress to do everything from buy groceries, prepare lunches for our kids, keep our jobs and have impact in our communities. Without friction, we can’t get traction. Stress IS friction.

But when does stress become too much? When does good stress, become bad stress (eustress) and ultimately grind us to a halt with burn out? I recently was forced to stop and ask myself that very question.

As a matriarch in a large dynamic family, an entrepreneur and a 55-year-old woman in the throes of perimenopause a lot is happening. My entire body chemistry is changing and as anyone who has gone through it will tell you – it is all a bit odd.

Last week my hairdresser was in the middle of a blow out when she stopped in her tracks, turned off the hairdryer, came in close and quietly said. “Kimberley have you been to your doctor lately? You have a bit of alopecia back here.” ?What the heck is alopecia?

Yup. I’m going bald.

Hair loss isn’t new to me. You see back in 2015 when my friend and colleague Beth Kanter and her co-auther Aliza Sherman were writing their book The Happy Healthy Nonprofit, they asked their network for stories about stress and burnout out. I responded.

I shared my story and it is included in the book. During my divorce, after I was fired from a job I never should have been hired for and had to sell my house, not sure where I was going to live; I was a little stressed. Off the charts stressed. On that trip to a hairdresser, I heard exactly the same thing. “Kimberley you should see a doctor. You are losing A LOT of hair.”

The only difference is that NOW I don’t consider myself as “stressed”. Back then my entire life was in turmoil. I was on anti-depressants just to be able to take the garbage out. It seemed perfectly normal that then we could add hair loss to the list of my symptoms.

Now is a different story.

Now I have the luxury and privilege of housing and financial security. I’m in love with an amazing husband (2.0!) I do work I love when I want to do it. If I happen to wake up at 3:00 am inspired to write an article about stress, I don’t have to stress about it! I can nap when most people are commuting to work. I walk my dogs twice a day. Sometimes in the forest. I go to yoga several times a week and next week I finally start piano lessons!

I have my act together! I work hard to take care of my mental and physical well-being. So why do I have a stress induced bald spot the size of a quarter in the back of my head.?

Upon reflection I realized that despite my charmed life it has been a stressful time. Since my last haircut:

·????? I had an AMAZING, but very hectic work trip overseas.

·????? I then took my daughter and granddaughter out to the west coast to visit my father. That trip was full of good stress, but I did the emotional and physical labour of it.

·????? My 82-year-old father had a massive health incident in the car while I was driving on the highway. He though he was dying, I thought he was dying, we raced through traffic to emergency, the hospital was moving VERY quickly, my children came to say their goodbyes. Everything turned out fine. He’s perfectly ok now. Lock up your edibles people! “Everyone” is laughing now, no need to “stress”.

·????? Then I came back home and almost burnt my house down Thanksgiving weekend. We have new smoke detectors now. No need to stress.

·????? At this very moment I am writing to you from my daughter and granddaughter’s brand-new apartment. We moved them in two days ago after five years of homelessness and one year of recovery in a women’s shelter. It is great news, we are beyond thrilled, happy, proud, and extremely grateful! Not “stressful”.

So, I guess even what I would consider episodic stress can manifest physically in your body without even noticing and you may be forced into shopping for a good wig! We need to talk about this stuff!

It is time for a movement to start to prioritize the mental and physical health of the people who work so hard in a sector.

The world is demanding extraordinary efforts from us right now and resources are in short supply. That is a toxic combination. If we don’t prioritize our well-being we will let our communities and our families down. Flight attendants have been teaching us this for decades. We MUST put on our own oxygen masks before we can be of use to anyone.

So, I’m thrilled to share that next week I will be partnering with Lisa MacDonald and Hilborn Charity eNews and we will be launching a Wellness Series. Burnout is still the number one concern amoung CEO’s in the charitable sector. Not just for themselves but for their staff. If you don’t believe me check out ?Canadahelps and the The Ontario NonProfit Network . They have the data if you need it. Here and here. We are chronically expected to deliver more with less and it has been that way since I started this work 25 years ago. We have to talk about it.

We will start with a series on the Value of Values and how they are the linchpin to protect us all from burnout. And if you like it, we will go from there. So do sign up for Hilborn’s Charity enews. As a former editor I can tell you that beyond this series you will get so much fabulous and free content. Some of Canadians foremost thought leaders in the sector write for Hilborn so you really will want their weekly publication. The first article will be published November 9, 2023 so sign up today.

Let’s get to it.

I’m Kimberley MacKenzie, I am working every day to help the people who work in charities or alongside them live a full, abundant, and resonant life so that they can do more for their communities. As a burnt-out charity executive, former consultant, former CFRE, AFP Master Trainer, Past Editor of Hilborn Charity eNews, Certified Co-active Coach, ICF, Associate Certified Coach, Podcaster, Step/Mother to eight, wife, Grandma to Hannah, I have a lot of compassion, wisdom, training and experience to help you survive and thrive in this sector. Join my email list here or just reach out and book a free introductory coaching session or follow me on Instagram and think about it for awhile. Let’s talk.

(Yes I play with storytelling on tiktok. It’s mostly just fun. Follow here if you like)

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